timebug

Growling

Today dawned as dull as dull, almost darkness in fact! Lazy raindrops spattering the ground for a few seconds;then inexplicably stopping again!

I will just sneak in and win again, for a bit....

Patrick O'Brian wrote the 'Aubrey/Maturin' series of books,which are naval tales, but very similar in tone to the Sharpe novels.There are twenty in the series, so if you like them,there is plenty to go at! They made a fil called 'The far side of the world' which did not do very well, but it was not actually based on any one book,although it used the characters from the novels. It was actually pieced together, using vital plot elements from three different books in the series!

I like all of John Varley's books. Try the 'Gaia' Trilogy ( Titan,Wizrd,and Demon) and see what you think.

I found this with 'The Good Soldier Svejk' by Jaroslav Hasek. I read the Cecil Parrot translation, as it was the only one available for many years. I loved the book anyway, but in the past few years a new translation has been published.It is allegedly closer to the authors prose, BUT.... I have tried the new one and to be honest, I am more comfortable with the 'original' translation that I first read. The 'new ' version is supposedly more earthy and contains references to bodily functions etc that were glossed over in the Parrot version. Whilst I appreciate that different people will like different translations for a number of reasons, I am content with the 'original' as it were.

If you cannot find your dog, open the fridge door. He’s standing right behind you.

Can I win for a short time then,until the next post arrives?

Glad some of you liked them! As I said, I did not know if they qualified for the 'Westerns' thread; to me they certainly do, but i have known genre 'purists' who would not accept this. Unless it is set in 'the old wild west' it does not count (to them!). Worst ever was a chap who used to come into my bookshop and demand all the 'classic' westerns, for no more than 10p apiece, as it was 'only a secondhand' bookshop!

I have read and enjoyed most of Cormac McCarthy's books. And I have no wish to 'derail' this thread, but I loved the 'Longmire' series by Craig Johnson. Not 'classic' westerns, but the modern day settings give Sherrif Walt Longmire plenty of scope for what he does best. His best friend is Henry Standing Bear, a Cheyenne warrior. Walt lives on the fringes of his own county,and the local Native American reservation; so aside from modern problems like drug smuggling, kidnapping and murder, there are also racial tensions bubbling under the surface in many of the books. Certainly 'westerns' in the broad sense of the term, but not historical 'wild west' tales.

Les Miserables is a fabulous book, but you have to be in the right frame of mind to read it. Proust,alas,defeated me at the two or three attempts I made at reading the series; Clarissa I found an easy read, but quite honestly, a flimsy plot stretched over the length of the book .Crime and Punishment I remember reaching about halfway,then putting it aside as something more interesting came along (and never picking it up again!) Dracula, has been written about on this board before; I love it, but many readers feel it is dull and boring, because of the style of the writing. D.H.Lawrence is a writer who I always found tedious and almost unreadable (as with C.Dickens,another big no from me!) I have read some Henry James, and cannot recall specific titles, so they failed to impress, obviously! And Paradise Lost was a wonderful read, when I got to it aged around twenty or so. Faulkner i have never read, although I have often been told that I should. But be comfortable with what you read; as I have grown even more ancient, I have decided that life being too short, if a book fails to 'grab me' within the first fifty or so pages, I abandon it. There are so many other good books out there, waiting!

Lay Down Sally - Eric Clapton

Margaret Sarah went too soon She got bit by a rabid raccoon When she looked at her wound..... she literally swooned,

I always found M.R.James to be 'the guvnor' when it came to ghost stories. Nicely creepy with just the right amount of chill, for my tastes. As a yoof, I came across M.R.James works, and have re-read them many times. It was generally considered,among my group of friends, thet James was the man for Ghost stories, and H.P.Lovecraft was the man for general weird tales. Plenty of choice out there, it is a matter of your personal tastes, and discovering what works for YOU.

Whole Lotta Shakin' - Jerry Lee Lewis

Whilst I am not by any means a 'cat person', I feel your loss. Any beloved pet leaves a void in your life. We experienced the loss of three wonderful dogs over the years, and finally decided not to get another,as the pain was just too great when they passed on.

I have read most of his work,and I find him one of those writers I place in the 'Yes, but?' category. I enjoyed the stories as I read them, and they had zero impact on me as regards thinking 'that was a great one'. Just one of many writers I have read,and can barely remember much about!

I watched 'A Quiet Place Part 2'.

I have often been deeply moved by a book, but never actually wept over anything I have read.

They immediately clicked,

Love the 'Earthsea' series! I have re-read them over and again,especially the original trio of books, which were all that was available for a while.

Seventy two and a half.(ish!)

I am just about the same! I have many friends who are virtual non-readers,and they cannot understand how and why I choose to read so often. Well it is one of lifes great pleasures,to me. I cannot undertand why some of them choose to spend the same amount of time watching sport/playing sport/or whatever their choice may be. Each to their own;reading is,and always has been a total pleasure for me!* * Ever since i first asked my Mother, what those funny symbols were on the morning cereal packet, and she patiently started to show me what 'letters' were, and how they could be used.She too,was a great reader herself!

It thundered here last night and spotted rain across the ground; only random drops though, not enough to wet anything. We all hoped the heat would break and give us relief; instead it increased as the potential 'storm' moved away!

I always found 'Ulysses' an easy read. It's 'Finnegans Wake' by James Joyce that is real challenge!